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2022-01-13

Brexit Facts4EU reports on something our government may be getting more right ...  the numbers of EU nationals being stopped, questioned, and even refused entry on arrival (excluding channel dinghy crossings obviously) is trending upwards.

Whilst I have no idea whether the figures being reported are any higher or lower than they should be, we can at least see that something has changed since we left the EU.

"The Home Office is believed to be applying a more thorough approach in questioning arrivals from the EU regarding the true intentions for their visit, including looking for visitors who are actually seeking work without the correct documentation or the right to do so"

"The Home Office and the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, have come in for a great deal of criticism throughout 2021 for the growth in human trafficking of illegal immigrants using inflatable dinghies between France and the south coast of England.

"Facts4EU has covered this issue extensively here and here but today, due to the release of new data we are able to look at the legal points of entry and can report a firmer approach is being taken to questioning the purpose of those entering the country"

Figures for "stopped for questioning" available are for 2021, quarters 1 to 3. Figures for "denied entry" are for quarters 1 and 2 only so far, but indicate a figure up to perhaps 15,000 for the full year.

How that compares with the 28,401 illegal migrants who crossed in small boats in 2021 (up from 8,461 in 2020, of whom zero to almost none were refused entry) I will leave you to ponder.

Memo to Priti: "action must match words in 2022".

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